Shuttle positioning device

ABSTRACT

Device for loom for correcting the position of the weft-needle or of the shuttle at the moment of its arrival in its casing, and comprising a pivoting flange provided with a probe, this flange being positioned so that its pivoting movement can be controlled from the batten during the beating operation, the probe in addition being positioned on the flange so that during the beating operation it is applied to the rear end of the weftneedle or the shuttle when it arrives in its casing.

United States Patent [191 Laval SHUTTLE POSITIONING DEVICE Inventor: Claude Laval, Castres, France Assignee: Lebocey Industrie, Aube, France Filed: Oct. 4, 1972 Appl. No.: 294,802

US. Cl 139/155, 139/125, 139/341 Int. Cl D03d 49/48 Field of Search 139/122 R, 125, 126, 155,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1897 Fittz et a1 139/253 7/1967 Mzyk et al. 139/155 [451 Sept. 24, 1974 3,543,809 12/1970 Laval ..l39/l25 Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jones, Thomas & Askew [5 7] ABSTRACT Device for loom for correcting the position of the weft-needle or of the shuttle at the moment of its arrival in its casing, and comprising a pivoting flange provided with a probe, this flange being positioned so that its pivoting movement can be controlled from the batten during the beating operation, the probe in addition being positioned on the flange so that during the beating operation it is applied to the rear end of the weft-needle or the shuttle when it arrives in its casing.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures- Pmziiiiuswew i" 3.837.367 SHEET EM 2 Fig.3

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%. //////////////q//////////////////// i Fir-9,: i I i 3:: i i 3 1 SHUTTLE POSITIONING DEVICE In conventional looms it is important to make sure that the shuttle is positioned correctly when it arrives in its casing. In general a suitable shuttle brake absorbs a major part of the kinetic energy of the shuttle which then comes to a stop against the batten bracket whose movement is reduced and then stopped by special damping devices of the picking stick.

The exact position of the shuttle is important, especially with looms where the spool of the shuttle is changed automatically.

This has the same importance with looms with exterior weft feed where the shuttle is replaced with a shuttle with clips. It is essential that the shuttle pulling the end of the weft stops in a precise position so as not to pull, outside the shed, an unnecessary and hindering length of weft.

The object of the present invention is to obtain the exact position of the shuttle or of the weft-needle and, in particular in the case of the weft-needle, to ensure that other operations take place simultaneously, such as the opening of the clip of the weftneedle and the control of the arrival at the proper time of said shuttle in its casing.

Whether conventional or weft-needle shuttles are concerned, the problems to be solved are the same. The use of weft-needle shuttles requires a greater number of operations to be carried out; it is the'device applied to solving the problems concerning weft-needle shuttles which will be given particular consideration as described in an embodiment of the invention in the description that follows, given by way of non-limitative example.

According to the invention, a device is provided which presses the rear end of the shuttle on its arrival in its casing to maintain it against the batten bracket.

In addition, this position correction causes the rear clip of the shuttle to open to free the weft which has just been pulled through the shed. Simultaneously, an additional safety measure is provided to make the loom stop, if necessary. Finally, the corrector member responsible for making the correction by pressure against the rear face of the shuttle also causes the opening of the corresponding rear clip.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the correcting device on the left hand side of the loom, in the rest position at the moment when the shuttle arrives in its casing.

FIG. 2 refers to the same corrector at the beginning of its action when the shuttle has arrived in the left hand casing, the broken line showing the control position when the shuttle arrives late.

FIG. 3 shows the position of the corrector at the end of its correcting action when the clip is opening.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a partial cross-section of the right hand clip of the shuttle in the closed position.

FIG. 5 refers to the same clip when it is being opened at the end of its course, that is, as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 shows an orthogonal view of the rear clip with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In the description that follows for purposes of simplification, only the left hand side of the loom is considered, the right hand side being absolutely identical symetrically.

The corrector here is formed by a flange virtually triangular in shape which is mounted on a pivot which is an integral part of the frame of the loom. A spring 3 fixed at 4 to this frame is attached to a nipple 5 on the flange I, and returns the corrector to its rest position as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 where the flange 1 is forced against the stop piece 6 which is adjustable, for example, by eccentricity and is also fixed to the frame of the loom.

A probe 7 ending in a head 8 made of nylon or other suitable material can slide in the eyeletsla and lb made in the flange 1. Around the rod of the probe 7 is placed a spring 9 working by compression and bearing on the eyelet 1a and also exerting a push on the ring 10 which is an integral part of the rod of the probe 7. The rod 7 comprises an end 11 which extends slightly beyond the eyelet 1a and is opposite a plate 12 of an electrical contactor 13 which also is mounted on the frame.

This contactor 13, when the plate 12 is in the position shown as a broken line at 12 of the FIG. 2, cuts the flow of the current actuating the loom and causing the latter to stop.

At each end of the shuttle 20 is provided, in the known manner, a hook-clip which enables the rear clip to seize the ends of the weft supplied to it by a bladeclip located on the batten close to the edge of the selvedge comb and the lower surface.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show the detail of the righthand clip (left hand clip being identical). It is made of two jaws cut out of steel; one of these, 21, is included and fixed in the body of the-shuttle 20 and comprises a hook 23; the other jaw, 22, is fixed with a little play against the first jaw 21 by means of a shouldered screw 24. A spring 25 makes the jaw 22 pivot under the head of the screw 24 thereby forming with the hook 23 the member pinching the weft 26 (FIG. 6).

Finally, integral with the batten and against the previous shuttle-guide 30 (FIG. I)'of the casing, is a support 31 which carries a roller 32 which has a vertical axis, this roller being substantially in the horizontal plane of the flange 1.

The corrector operates in the following way:

When the shuttle 20 arrives in its casing from right to left as shown in FIG. 1, the batten continues its forward movement. When the roller 32 (FIG. 2) comes into contact with the flange 1, the batten takes up a position such that the shuttle, if its movement is delayed (see broken line 20') rubs against the head 8 of the probe 7. The end 11 of the latter then acts, following 11 upon the plate 12 of the contactor 13 which, pushed back to 12', cuts the current which actuates the loom and causes it to stop.

In addition, when the shuttle 20 reaches its casing in normal time (FIG. 2) even a possible rebound caused by the casing brake going out of order cannot occur since, according to FIGS. 2 and 3, the roller 32 has come into contactwith the flange l at 1c and makes it pivot about the trunnion 2 so that the probe 7 comes into contact with the rear face of the shuttle 20 (FIG. 3) to stabilize it, while at the same time pressing on the blade 22 of the clip freeing the-weft 26, this being effected at the end of the course and definitely after the closure of the shed.

Under these conditions, the course of the batten no longer has any influence on the correction of the shuttle, since the inclined part 15 of the flange l is then virtually parallel to the displacement plane of the roller 32 carried by the batten. The probe 7 simply sinks (FIG.

3) and the ring compresses the spring 9. but the angular position of the flange 1 remains unchanged at the end of the course of the batten. During the return of the batten toward the rear, the flange 1 re-assumes by itself its rest position (FIG. 1) first under the action of the spring 9 and then of the return spring 3.

In case of greater of lesser widths the location of the correctors must be modified accordingly. It must, however, remain substantially the same with respect to the selvedge of the cloth.

Not shown on the drawings are slideways which are provided in the frame which makes it possible to displace the trunnion 2, the stop piece 6, the anchor 4 of the spring 3 and the contactor 13.

Provision can also be made for slideways which allow the lateral displacement of the support 31 of the roller 32 along the previous shuttle-guide 30 on the batten.

The device is described and illustrated referring more particularly to looms with weft-needle shuttles with clips which become more simple when the corrector is applied to conventional shuttle looms in which there are no clips, and because of this, are not taken into consideration.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the examples of its embodiment herein above described and illustrated, and on the basis of which other methods and forms of embodiment can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A shuttle-positioning device for a loom for correcting the positioning of a shuttle within a shuttle casing at the moment said shuttle arrives in said shuttle casing comprising a pivoting flange actuated by a batten and a probe mounted on said pivoting flange and movable relative thereto, said probe acting on the end of said shuttle to hold said shuttle against a batten bracket within said shuttle casing after said shuttle arrives within said shuttle casing.

2. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 1 wherein said pivoting flange is substantially triangular and is acted on by said batten during the beating operation by means of a roller mounted on a suitable support on said batten.

3. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 1 wherein said probe is movably engageable with an electric contactor such that when said shuttle is late in its normal movement, said probe is pushed back and comes into contact with said electric contactor, cutting the current actuating the loom.

4. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 3 wherein said pivoting flange is mounted on a trunnion secured to the loom frame, an anchor is secured to said loom frame a spaced distance from said flange, a spring is fixed at one end to said flange and at the other end to said anchor, and a stop piece is secured to said loom frame a spaced distance from said flange.

5. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 1 wherein said shuttle is a weft-needle shuttle with front and rear clips and said probe is located on said pivoting flange in a manner such that, during the beating operation, the pivoting movement of the flange brings the rod of said probe against said rear clip of said shuttle and causes, by pressure on said rear clip, the opening of said rear clip to free the weft thread at the end of its course after the closure of the shed.

a ii iii i in 

1. A shuttle-positioning device for a loom for correcting the positioning of a shuttle within a shuttle casing at the moment said shuttle arrives in said shuttle casing comprising a pivoting flange actuated by a batten and a probe mounted on said pivoting flange and movable relative thereto, said probe acting on the end of said shuttle to hold said shuttle against a batten bracket within said shuttle casing after said shuttle arrives within said shuttle casing.
 2. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 1 wherein said pivoting flange is substantially triangular and is acted on by said batten during the beating operation by means of a roller mounted on a suitable support on said batten.
 3. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 1 wherein said probe is movably engageable with an electric contactor such that when said shuttle is late in its normal movement, said probe is pushed back and comes into contact with said electric contactor, cutting the current actuating the loom.
 4. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 3 wherein said pivoting flange is mounted on a trunnion secured to the loom frame, an anchor is secured to said loom frame a spaced distance from said flange, a spring is fixed at one end to said flange and at the other end to said anchor, and a stop piece is secured to said loom frame a spaced distance from said flange.
 5. A shuttle-positioning device as in claim 1 wherein said shuttle is a weft-needle shuttle with front and rear clips and said probe is located on said pivoting flange in a manner such that, during the beating operation, the pivoting movement of the flange brings the rod of said probe against said rear clip of said shuttle and causes, by pressure on said rear clip, the opening of said rear clip to free the weft thread at the end of its course after the closure of the shed. 